


pyrrhic victories

by arachnistar



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: (sort of? beginning it anyway), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Emotional Baggage, Gen, Healing, Season 3, how did we get here and where do we go from here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,509
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22057318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arachnistar/pseuds/arachnistar
Summary: Cassandra never believed she would actually win, but here she was, sword pointed at Rapunzel on the ground before her. All she had to do was strike and victory would be hers.(She never meant for it to go this far.)
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 57





	pyrrhic victories

**Author's Note:**

> This has been knocking around my brain for a while now and I finally decided to go ahead and post it before the new year (a whole 2 fics written this year, grad school really cut into my writing time) and before the new episodes came and officially made this canon divergent. This works as platonic or pre-relationship or buried-gay-feelings-for-your-best-friend, so read it however you wish.

If Cassandra was honest, she never thought she would win.

Deep down, she harbored the belief that she would always come in second to Rapunzel, that Rapunzel would win every time, protected by fortune and fate, and Cassandra wouldn’t have to make the ultimate terrible choice.

But that isn’t what happens.

Driven by rage and fear and whispers at her shoulder, Cassandra fights like a hurricane, summoning rocks, dodging blows, swinging her sword to block the rush of Rapunzel’s hair. And then Rapunzel is on the ground before her, bruised, boxed in by rocks, Cassandra’s sword pointed at her.

Cassandra is frozen, eyes wide, transfixed by this tableau. The only sound is Rapunzel’s hard breathing and, distantly, many rooms over, too far to be of any help, no chance for miraculous last-minute heroics, the clash of weapons against unbreakable rocks. Victory is so close Cassandra can almost taste it; at last, she’s almost won. 

And she can’t move.

“What are you waiting for?” The voice of the ghost hisses from the side.

Rapunzel doesn’t show a reaction to the ghost’s voice ( _is she even there or is she your own creation?_ ); instead, her big, green eyes remain locked on Cassandra. “Cass, please, it’s not too late. You can still stop this.” 

“You’re wrong.” Cassandra tightens her grip on the sword. To fulfill her destiny, she needs to take the Sundrop and join its power with the Moonstone. To do that, she needs to kill Rapunzel. 

Rapunzel who stood in her way, who ignored her warnings regardless of how many times they came true, who took every choice from her, who didn’t trust her to save the day and scarred her hand ( _it still burns some days_ ). Rapunzel who is the reason she was a lady-in-waiting, a servant, doomed to wait in the wings, unappreciated, overlooked, ignored except when convenient, nothing more. 

Rapunzel who is on the ground begging, who still believes there is a chance for her, for them, as if Cassandra didn’t choose a road of no return. 

Rapunzel who tried so hard to become her friend in the first place, who gave her the final egg rather than transforming herself back, who kept pushing her to talk about her feelings because she was concerned and wanted their friendship to remain intact and for her to be okay. Rapunzel who was, is, her best friend, whom Cassandra promised to keep safe, a vow she meant to carry to her grave because of her love. 

Rapunzel who is on the ground, bruised, bleeding, begging, because of _her_.

( _What have you done?_ )

The sword tip lowers. Her muscles begin to tremble, a kind of shaking that starts deep in her core and spreads through her limbs.

Oh.

What is she doing? How did she let it go so far? Why did she ever convince herself that she could do this or that this would make her happy? In what world, did killing Rapunzel fulfill her? 

( _Traitor, unworthy, monster._ )

“Cassandra, what are you doing?” The ghost interrupts. “Don’t you remember how she took _everything_ from you? How you’ve worked so hard for your destiny and she was just given things? This is your _right_. Take it.”

“I can’t do this.” She says to the ghost, voice shaky. No. That’s not enough. Her brows furrow and she shakes her head, more resolute this time. “I won’t do this.”

“Then you are weak. Spineless. You really are just a servant.” Her words slice through the air, vicious despite her calm tone.

“I am _not_ a servant.”

“Cass?” Cassandra sees Rapunzel glance in the direction she’s glaring but nothing registers. She can’t see the ghost ( _she can’t see you_ ). Rapunzel’s gaze returns to Cassandra. “Of course you’re not, you’re my best friend.”

“She’s lying. She’s just trying to manipulate you into relinquishing your destiny. Can’t you see it? Can’t you see how she’s trying to put you back in your place? She just wants you to follow her again, to give up your power. But you need to break free. You need this.” 

Cassandra looks down at Rapunzel. She doesn’t look manipulative; she looks scared and sad and desperate, similar to how Cassandra felt on many lonely nights in the forest.

( _Your only company a ghost that may or may not be real, whispering dark things_.)

It registers then in Cassandra’s head. Anger and frustration and too many other emotions she doesn’t have the words to describe still boil within her, but this relationship she’s struck up with a ghost she still doesn’t know the name of isn’t real. She had allowed the ghost to lead because she had shown an interest, because she had given voice to the dark thoughts in the depths of Cassandra’s mind, because there had been no one else in the woods except for Owl ( _loyal, concerned Owl, hooting warnings she ignored, no_ ) and she had been desperate. In all that time, for all her usual distrust, she had never stopped to question the ghost’s interests in all this, in her. 

“No. You’re the one manipulating me.” 

There is a pause, a moment when Cassandra thinks maybe the ghost will simply vanish now that she’s decided to stop listening to her, and then the ghost flies at Cassandra. Suddenly she’s not intangible anymore, she’s solid and heavy and real. The impact knocks the sword from her grasp and Cassandra falls, wrestling with a ghost much stronger than her small frame would imply. The ghost’s hands wrap around the Moonstone and she leans her face close to Cassandra’s.

“If you’re not going to use it, I’ll take it from you.”

Cassandra screams as the Moonstone sends a wave of energy crackling through her body, throwing sparks around the two of them. It burns, it burns deep within her, like someone has lit a fire in her chest. Distantly she’s aware of jagged rocks shooting up from the ground in response to her panic and pain. Her hands push at the ghost, but it’s impossible, she’s too heavy, too much, and despite the energy radiating from the Moonstone, the ghost holds on.

“You are mine.” The ghost snarls even as the Moonstone remains immobile. Her hand passes through the armor, into Cassandra’s chest, bringing with it a new sensation of cold. Cassandra gasps as she feels tight squeezing in her chest. Her vision blurs.

Dimly she is aware that the ghost is ready to kill her for the Moonstone, that she is disposable now that she cannot serve the ghost’s purpose. She is also aware that despite her best efforts, she hasn’t so much as nudged the ghost.

“No, I – “ She gasps out the words. She tries to direct a rock to spear through the ghost, but her control has slipped and the rocks shoot up from the ground feet away.

( _You’re going to die. Alone and useless. This is who you are._ )

Darkness swims around her.

And then – a halo of brilliant gold appears, looped around the ghost’s body. It takes a moment for Cassandra to connect the brightness with Rapunzel’s hair.

“Let go of her!”

The ghost goes sailing across the room, crashing into rocks that Cassandra had raised earlier. 

Cassandra doesn’t pause. Chest still burning, head dizzy, she stands, snatches her sword off the ground, and runs to where the ghost fell. Without hesitation, she plunges the blade into her chest, roar escaping her lips. “You’re finished.”

The ghost stares for a moment before laughing. “You think this will end me? You think this has done anything but delay our victory? No, those gears are already in motion. It’s only a matter of time. I will return and when I’m back, you will pay. Zhan Tiri will rise again.”

With that, she vanishes and silence falls on the room. Cassandra stares at where the ghost had been, at where her sword now sticks up from the ground. Her eyes close. She’d been a fool, thinking she had some great destiny, that she was something more than what she was when in reality, she was just a tool.

Body still shaking, it hasn’t stopped this entire time, Cassandra drops to her knees before the sword. Tears slide down her face. She had almost done the unthinkable, all because she couldn’t see through her rage clearly enough.

( _You listened, it’s your fault, you did this, how could you? How could you do this to her? How could you let this happen?_ ) 

“Cass, are you okay?”

Cassandra looks up at Rapunzel and laughs, a harsh, ugly sound that startles Rapunzel. She shakes her head. “I almost killed you and you’re asking me if I’m okay?” 

She’d wanted to go separate ways from Rapunzel, to seize her own destiny and be recognized for once as more than Rapunzel’s lady-in-waiting, but she had never wanted to kill Rapunzel. And yet here she was, having almost done just that. 

What did that make her?

“Cass...”

“I’m fine, Rapunzel.” Cassandra lies, looking away. A surge of anger, at the ghost, at the world, but mostly at herself, bellows through her. Some of the rocks shake in response, point in her direction.

( _M_ _onster, liar, unworthy, traitor, nothing._ )

“Don’t do this. Please.”

“I’m not hurt.” Rapunzel still doesn’t look satisfied but she doesn’t push further. Cassandra feels a touch of gratitude for it. There will be time to unpack later ( _or you will be executed for your crimes_ ). “Are you okay?” 

“Nothing that can’t be fixed.”

That doesn’t really answer Cassandra’s question, but then she hadn’t answered Rapunzel’s either. It's only fair. Her hand goes to the Moonstone. It sparks under her touch and she sighs. “I’m sorry, Raps. For hurting you. For everything else.” 

It feels so small, but what else is there?

“It’s… okay.” 

Rapunzel is right before her now. Cassandra tilts her head back to look her in the eyes. “It’s not. I was angry… unhappy… but I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I was wrong.”

“I should have noticed how you were feeling. I'm sorry.”

Cassandra shakes her head before Rapunzel can continue making excuses for her. “It’s not on you. I was too good at hiding. I should have said something, I - it’s hard to talk about my feelings. I let them build up and then all it took was one thing to set me off - and I thought I was doing something right for me.” Her eyes burn. She hasn’t cried this much in months. “That I was taking what I deserved, but I had no idea what I was doing. I kept letting my anger build, and I-I went too far. I almost...”

Her voice chokes, she can’t say the words, can’t imagine a world where Rapunzel was gone, let alone one where she had been the one to destroy her.

“But I’m going to make it right.” 

Her fingers pry at the edges of the Moonstone but it doesn’t come out. She tries again, throws some force into it, but it remains firmly lodged within the black armor. 

Rapunzel kneels and holds out her hand. “Here, maybe if I... if it’s okay?” 

Cassandra lets her hand fall to the side as Rapunzel raises hers. She touches the Moonstone delicately, tracing her fingers across its smooth surface. Her golden hair begins to glow and the Moonstone responds in kind with a blue glow of its own. Instead of the burning pain Cassandra felt when the ghost touched the Stone, warmth fills her now, along with a sense of peace. This is where she should be, and that thought steadies her.

Rapunzel tightens her grip on the Moonstone and pulls. It remains embedded in the armor. A small frown creases her face and she tries again, one hand coming up to push back against Cassandra’s shoulder.

After a few minutes of failing to budge the stone, Rapunzel says, “It’s not coming out.”

“I’m sorry, Raps.” It stings, that undoing this mistake is not so simple as handing her the Moonstone. Maybe there’s a part of her that still wants it, that still clings to her fabricated destiny. She feels a stab of resentment at the Moonstone, for denying her this, and then at herself, for her actions ( _why did you take it in the first place?_ ). “You should be the one to have it.” 

Rapunzel stares at the Moonstone for a moment and then she looks into Cassandra’s eyes. “Maybe… maybe this is how it’s supposed to be. Maybe having both would be too much for one person, but with each of us having a part, we can stop the darkness. Together.”

“Together,” Cassandra echoes, heart aching. Unthinking, her hand comes up and covers Rapunzel’s over the Moonstone. She isn’t sure she agrees with Rapunzel about their entwined fate, but as long as the Moonstone remains with her, she’s determined to be worthy of it. It’s the first time anything has felt right in a long time. “I promise I’ll make things up to you somehow.”

“Let’s start by talking. No more hiding feelings. If you have a problem, tell me. I promise I’ll listen and we’ll work together to make things better.”

Cassandra bites her lip. “I can’t promise I’ll be any good at that, but… I’ll try. I promise.”

“Good.” Rapunzel smiles and after a moment, Cassandra returns it. It’s small and shaky but it’s there.

“You don’t have to be my lady-in-waiting anymore. I’m sorry I never realized how unhappy it made you. I can make you a guard instead.”

The smile dissolves as bitterness rises in her throat. “I don’t think I deserve to be a guard right now. I haven’t done much protecting lately.” Her hand drops. “You don’t have to be so nice, Raps. I'm not going to run off if you yell at me.”

Rapunzel frowns, withdraws her hand. The Moonstone’s warmth fades, leaving Cassandra a little colder, a little bereft. She ignores the feeling. “I want to help you, Cass. You’re my friend.”

“I almost killed you.”

“You didn’t.” ( _She’s right but – you were too close._ ) “I knew you wouldn’t.”

Cassandra looks away. She wants to share Rapunzel’s faith, the thought of killing Rapunzel makes her physically ill certainly, but she’d been so close…

“Please stay.”

“I will.” Cassandra looks back at her, sees the hints of a smile forming on Rapunzel’s face. “At least until we figure this out.” She gestures at the Moonstone and then at Rapunzel’s hair.

Rapunzel frowns but she seems to think better of saying anything. Cassandra feels a wave of relief for it. She doesn’t feel like fighting. Mostly she feels tired, and angry, and like she doesn’t know her place in the world. Maybe it’s in Corona, but it may well be somewhere else.

( _Come home, your heart sings._ )

“I missed you,” comes, unbidden, small and vulnerable and nervous, from her.

Rapunzel’s eyes grow soft. “I missed you too.” She stands and holds out a hand to Cassandra. “Let’s go. We have a lot to talk about.”

Cassandra takes her hand. “We do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had several different endings for this fic, particularly with what happens to the Moonstone and how that translates to what happens to them, but I'm satisfied with this one. They've got a lot to talk about, a lot to work through, not to mention an ultimate evil to overcome, but it's a start. There always has to be a start.
> 
> If you want to chat with me about tangled or cass or anything else, you can find me on [Tumblr](http://proofthatihaveaheart.tumblr.com/).


End file.
